Student Food and Baking Blog by a Student

Tag Archives: double cream

Inspired by Nadiya Hussain’s rhubarb ripple ice cream that she made last week on her British Food Adventure, I am fuelling my obsession with black sesame and I’m sharing my recipe for my No Churn Black Sesame Ice Cream.

The black sesame ice cream has this wonderful charcoal grey colour which I think is so visually pleasing and attractive. What’s more, you certainly don’t expect the nutty, bitter and smoky flavour of black sesame to come from this grey coloured ice cream and it’s that flavour which lingers after an initial hit of creamy sweetness.

Both Nigella and Mary as well as Nadiya have also demonstrated this no churn ice cream method on their shows and it really is so simple. Instead of using a crème anglaise base for the ice cream, double cream and condensed milk remove all the hard work of making custard and using an ice cream maker.

Condensed milk contains most of the sugar you need and because it is condensed, the moisture from the milk has been evaporated giving a creamy ice cream that doesn’t contain large ice crystals which would be good for a sorbet or a granita. Whipped double cream makes the ideal ice cream texture which is light and takes away the churning process. Golden syrup, or liquid glucose, reduces the firmness of the ice cream when set and I like to add evaporated milk for a similar reason.

If you cannot find any black sesame powder, you can make it yourself very easily – and remember it is very versatile! Buy a whole load of black sesame seeds and toast them over a medium heat in a dry pan until they are fragrant and then grind them in a food processor or blender until a fine and slightly damp powder forms. Put into a zip lock bag or an airtight container in the fridge and discard when the powder begins to lose its freshness.

Pour all of the ingredients except for the black sesame seeds into a large bowl and whisk until it has increased in volume and become thick but does not hold soft peaks. Scrape down the bowl using a spatula and fold through the black sesame seeds.

Transfer to a plastic container, scraping down the bowl completely – don’t waste any of that black sesame goodness!! Sprinkle more black sesame seeds over the top and then put the lid on the container.

Place the container into a bag – I recommend using one that you can get at the fruit/veg section in the supermarket – and then freeze for around 6 hours or until the ice cream has set and is firm.

Serve the ice cream either in a waffle cone or in a bowl. Finish the ice cream by sprinkling over some toasted black sesame seeds.

Choux pastry has grown to become one of my favourite pastries to make. It’s simpler in comparison to its shortcrust and puff cousins, you don’t need to roll it out and worry about overworking the pastry and what’s more, it’s also incredibly versatile, capable of making sweet and savoury bakes. Today I’m doing a sweet version, sharing my Salted Caramel Choux Buns.

Choux has two important stages in the cooking and mixing process, the cooking of the flour and the addition of the eggs. Choux pastry employs a different method of pastry making compared to the rubbing in of the fat into the flour for shortcrust and the folding/layering of fat in rough puff, flaky and puff pastry. The flour is added to boiling liquid and cooked out over the heat. Heating up the flour will allow the flour to gelatinise as the starch molecules in flour absorb the liquid and swell upon heating. You’ve cooked out the flour enough when the bottom of the pan starts to look furry.

The second stage is adding the eggs (only once the dough has cooled down slightly or the eggs would curdle!) which are responsible for adding extra moisture which will expand in the oven and create the puffed up hollow choux bun. Eggs are a source of protein and lend themselves to giving a structure capable of holding the shape of the puffed up choux bun. And in the oven, the moisture from the water in the first stage and the eggs will evaporate, forcing the choux bun to expand.

I always think of choux pastry as the pastry that looks like it’s going wrong. You add the flour into the liquid and you think it will never mix together to form a dough; you start to beat in the eggs and you never think the choux pastry will come together but after a solid minute of beating, the eggs emulsify and the pastry comes together.

The filling for these choux buns is an almost addictive salted caramel whipped cream. I know salted caramel is a bit of an overused ingredient nowadays but I just can’t get enough of it. Here are some of my other salted caramel recipes:

Preheat the oven to 200˚C. Line 2 baking trays with some baking parchment.

Place the margarine, water and salt into a pan and heat until the margarine has melted. Turn up the heat and bring it to the boil. Once the water is boiling, take the pan away from the heat add in the flour all at once; this technique is often referred to as shooting.

Beat the flour into the liquid with a wooden spoon until it forms a dough. Return the pan to the heat and cook the choux pastry until the bottom of the pan looks furry and a ball of dough which is smooth has formed. Remove the pan from the heat and let the dough cool.

Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding the second once the first has fully incorporated, until it forms a smooth and glossy pastry which when you dollop it off the wooden spoon will form a ‘V’ shape hanging from the spoon.

Fill a piping bag with the choux paste and twist the top firmly so none of it leaks out during piping. Pipe out balls of the dough around 3-4cm wide, leaving space between for expanding. Lightly brush each of the choux buns with milk or an egg wash. Then place some flaked almonds on the top of the choux pastry. You can smooth out the choux buns using the egg wash if they have a point, which could burn during baking.

Bake the choux buns for 15 minutes before opening the oven door to release the steam and dropping the temperature down to 180˚C and baking for a further 12 – 15 minutes until they are firm, rich golden colour and risen well. They should lift off the parchment easily too, leaving it clean.

Remove them from the oven and use a sharp knife to pierce a hole in the base of the choux buns. Upturn them so the hole is facing upwards and return the choux buns to the oven for a further 5 minutes to dry out. When you are ready to fill the choux buns, split them in half and keep the matching halves together.

For the salted caramel, stir together the water and sugar over a medium heat in a pan until it dissolves. Add the margarine and stir to melt. Bring the mixture up to the boil and let it boil away for around 6-7 minutes until it turns a caramel colour, swirling the pan every now and then to make sure its evenly mixed.

Carefully pour in the double cream as it will spit and splutter. Whisk in the double cream and the salt over the heat until the salted caramel is smooth and silky. Pour into a heatproof bowl to cool down fully. Once cool, it should be thick and sticky.

In another bowl, pour in the double cream and whisk it (by hand, I promise this doesn’t take too long!) until it just holds a soft peak. It will look very soft and pillowy and should just hold on the whisk. Add in around a third of your salted caramel and whisk the cream until it changes colour slightly and the caramel is mixed in well. It should still be quite soft, don’t overwhisk.

Fill a piping bag attached with a pointed star nozzle with the salted caramel cream. Pipe the filling generously into the bottom halves on your choux buns, sandwiching the two halves together and pressing down lightly to stick together but not too hard to disrupt the nozzle pattern. Finish with a dusting of icing sugar.

This year, I am posting recipes for the 12 Days of Christmas! From edible gifts such as Cranberry White Chocolate Crunch Biscuits to ways to reinvent your leftovers and also reviewing some products that you might want to have in your kitchens this Christmas.

To start the series off, I’m sharing my recipe for Dairy Milk Caramel Cupcakes. I’m not the biggest fan of Dairy Milk chocolate and so I decided to reinvent it into cupcakes inspired by the chocolate bar. A light and fluffy chocolate sponge with a hidden salted caramel centre is topped with a salted caramel cream, a piece of Dairy Milk Caramel and finished with a drizzle of more caramel.

These would be a fantastic treat for anyone who loves Dairy Milk Caramel and here are some other food bloggers’ recipes which use chocolate bars and would be perfect for any chocaholic:

Prepare the salted caramel by putting the sugar in a pan over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Occasionally stir the sugar until it turns into caramel which is the colour of dark amber. Remove it from the heat, step back and carefully add in the margarine and double cream and whisk until the cream emulsifies and you have a caramel sauce. Be careful as it does spit and hiss. Leave on the heat for around 30 seconds until it is thick and glossy, add in the salt and pour into a bowl to cool down.

Preheat the oven to 170˚C. Line a 12 hole muffin tin with 12 muffin cases.

Put all of the ingredients for the cupcakes into a large mixing bowl and beat for 1 minute using an electric whisk. This is the all-in-one method and makes for a very simple and quick cake. Take a rubber spatula and scrape down the sides, folding the mixture on the side through a few times until it is even.

Use an ice cream scoop to divide the batter equally between the 12 paper cases, filling them no more than two-thirds full. Take a teaspoonful of the salted caramel and dollop it in the centre of the cupcake.

Bake the cupcakes for around 18 – 22 minutes until an inserted skewer comes out clean (some caramel may come out on the skewer). Leave the cakes to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Whip the double cream until it forms soft peaks (it won’t hold the shape of the whisk but will be thick and pillowy). Add in half of the remaining salted caramel and fold it through and the cream should be thick and hold its shape. Place it into a piping bag fitted either with a star nozzle (up to you which size) or you can cut out your own nozzle with a pair of sharp scissors; I cut out a jagged edge with 5 points which gave a defined swirl.

Pipe a swirl of the salted caramel cream on top of the cupcakes and push a piece of Dairy Milk Caramel onto the cream. Spoon over some more of the leftover salted caramel to finish the cupcakes.

Check out some other bloggers who are doing Blogmas or a 12 Days series like me:

The first showstopper challenge of The Great British Bake Off 2015 is a reinvention of the classic retro dessert, the Black Forest Gateau. Now let me just say that I don’t have the kitchen capacity to make tempered chocolate decorations or fancy caramel buildings so my creation is nowhere near as good as the ones that the bakers make on the show but I’m sure it tastes just as good.

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Whilst the version from the freezers of supermarkets is fine, I think this tops them all with layers of speckled chocolate cake brushed with a cherry glaze and covered with sweetened cream. I found this great sour cherry conserve which has chunks of sour cherry inside. I apply this liberally on the sponge and on the cream as it is the only source of cherry flavour. Feel free to change this up by making cherry compote or a cherry syrup instead. Kirsch, a cherry liqueur, can also be used if you are the kind of person who uses alcohol in their baking.

Talking of changing things up, why not try making a chocolate Kirsch ganache to fill the centre, topping the cake with chocolate coated cherries, or making caramel decorations or use modelling chocolate to shape trees. This reinvention challenge is really up to you!

If you want to put cherries in each layer, I suggest using frozen cherries, which are readily available, and cooking them down with some water, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and cherry conserve until it is thick, sticky and the cherries are soft. Drain the syrup away and paint the sponges using this instead. Fresh cherries, whilst very tasty and juicy, are very expensive and for a cake this size, you’d struggle to find enough cherries.

150g dark chocolate, melted

1 tbsp instant coffee granules

1 tbsp milk

6 eggs

175g granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

180g self-raising flour

450g high quality sour cherry conserve

600ml double cream

100g granulated sugar

100g dark chocolate

Preheat the oven to 190°C. Line the base of 2 20cm deep loose bottomed round tins with baking parchment and set aside.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave on 30 second blasts, stirring after each blast, reducing the time to 20 seconds once it starts to melt. Add the milk and coffee, stir to combine and set aside to cool briefly.

Whisk the 6 eggs with the sugar until it is thick, mousse-like and when you draw a figure of eight with the whisk, it is visible before sinking back slowly. Add the cooled chocolate, the vanilla extract and sift in the self-raising flour, and working quickly, fold through until everything is combined. If the chocolate is not mixing through, using just 1 whisk in the electric whisk, whisk until the sponge is even.

Divide the sponge mix between the 2 tins and bake for 20 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before removing and cooling completely on a wire rack. Once cooled, use a serrated knife to divide the sponges in half, cutting off any peaks so that each top half lays flat.

Mix 4 tablespoons of the cherry conserve with some boiling water until it is loose. Paint each exposed side of the sponge with the conserve and place one bottom half on your serving plate or cake stand.

Whip the double cream with the sugar until it forms thick but soft peaks. It should hold its shape but be easily spread with a spoon.

Spread another 3 tablespoons of the conserve on the sponge and then top with some of the whipped cream. Carefully spoon some more of the cherry conserve on, making sure it is spread evenly. Sandwich another layer on top, repeating this layering process, finishing on a top half of sponge and around half of the cream left.

Transfer some of the cream into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle. Spread the top with some cream and then spread the rest around the side. Finish by piping 8 large peaks of the cream on the top with one in the centre. Carefully dot some of the conserve on each peak and create a ring of 8 dots between the cream on the top.

Scrape the back of a knife against the bar of chocolate to create chocolate sprinkles and dust over the cake. Keep in the fridge and it is best eaten the day after.

If you are also baking along with GBBO, please let me know and share what you did with the Black Forest Gateau down below. Like I say this is nothing on what the bakers did on the show but this is a revamped version of the classic. I call what the bakers are doing on the show reinvented.

I came up with this recipe because I had a little bit of lemon curd left in the fridge and wanted to use it all up. Then I tasted some of the cake and was so surprised that it was the moistest, fluffiest and tastiest lemon cake I’d ever made. The cake had an amazing crumb and it was wonderfully golden.

I used a 2lb loaf tin to bake this cake, and used a paper loaf tin liner for ease. Of course you could transfer this cake into round, or square tins, just remember to adjust the baking times accordingly. Loaf tins just mean that nobody complains about getting a bigger or smaller slice.

Cake:

180g Stork

180g caster sugar

3 eggs

200g self-raising flour

½ tsp baking powder

25ml milk

50g lemon curd

Zest of ½ a lemon

Filling:

300ml double cream

2 tbsp icing sugar

50g lemon curd

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Line a 2lb loaf tin with a paper loaf tin liner.

In a large bowl, beat together the Stork and caster sugar until it is combined with an electric whisk. Sieve in 1 tablespoon of the flour. Then add the eggs one by one until the mixture is well combined. This prevents curdling and makes for a lighter cake.

Sieve in the remaining flour and the baking powder and fold until it is incorporated and the cake is smooth. It should feel slightly thicker than a conventional sponge mix. Add the milk, the lemon curd and the lemon zest and using the electric whisk, mix until everything is smooth and well mixed.

Transfer into the lined loaf tin. Smooth out the top of the cake mix, creating a slight dip in the centre, which will rise to make a level top.

Bake in the centre of the oven, placing the tin horizontally in the oven, for about 35-45 minutes, testing the cake’s doneness by inserting a skewer into the centre and it should come out clean.

Allow the sponge to cool in the tin completely so it holds its shape.

Once cooled, split the cake in half lengthways. Instead of having the cake flat on the surface and trying to level it off, hold the sponge up vertically and cut straight down the middle, ensuring that the sponge does not move. This should give more even layers.

Whip up the double cream with the icing sugar until it holds thick, but soft peaks. Fold through the lemon curd.

Spoon about half of the cream into the centre. Smooth it out, leaving a slight border around the outside so that the cream doesn’t spill out the side and making the filling more weighted towards the centre of the cake before using a palette knife to encourage the cream outwards. Top with the other sponge.

Top the sponge with the rest of the cream and ensuring that the cream is weighted towards the centre to give height. Then using the palette knife, touch the cream and lift the knife upwards to create peaks and repeat for the rest of the cream.

Allow the cake to chill in the fridge for about an hour before serving.

Whether you’re searching for a luxurious dessert or something last minute for a very different Christmas dessert, I think I’ve got the recipe for you. This cake consists of a delicate, fluffy yet tasty brown sugar sponge sandwiched and coated in a creme mousseline filling, which is a pastry cream base lightened with whipped cream. I hope that you like this recipe because it is devilishly rich but also a cake for any occasion, not just for an alternative Christmas dessert.

Just to make everything a bit easier, after all who needs more stress at Christmas, I use a quick all-in-one method for the sponge and make the filling before I make the sponge so everything is ready to assemble at once.

Sponge

115g Stork

115g soft light brown sugar

2 eggs

115g self-raising flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp vanilla extract

Sabayon Filling

3 large egg yolks

75g sugar

40g plain flour

200ml whole milk

300ml double cream

75g toasted almonds, skins removed, finely chopped

For the sabayon filling, take a medium bowl and beat the egg yolks until they become lighter in colour. Add all the sugar and continue to whisk (using an electric whisk) for 3 minutes until the mixture is thick and pale.

Add the flour a spoonful at a time and with each addition, whisk until it has been incorporated. Start to whisk in the milk slowly.

Put the mixture into a pan over a medium heat and with a wooden spoon, continue stirring until the mixture has thickened. You want to take it to quite a thick consistency – the ideal texture is that the sabayon cannot be poured out of the pan. Place the filling into a bowl and cover the bowl with clingfilm, ensuring it touches the surface. Once it’s cooled completely, place it into the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Grease and line the base of 2 x 20cm round sandwich tins.

Place all the ingredients for the sponge into a bowl and using an electric whisk, beat the ingredients together for about 1 minutes until the ingredients are all incorporated and the mixture is smooth.

Divide the cake mix between the 2 tins and then bake for about 20 – 25 minutes until the cakes feel springy in the centre. Allow them to cool in the tin for 5 minutes and then take a palette knife and run it around the edge of the tin. Turn out the cakes onto a cooling rack and peel off the paper.

To assemble the cake, whisk the double cream until it holds stiff peaks. Be careful not to overbeat the cream. Loosen up the sabayon by giving it a little whisk. Fold the cream into the sabayon until it is an even paler colour

Place one half of the sponge on your serving plate or cake stand and spread about ¾ of the sabayon filling onto the sponge. Spread it all the way to the edges and then ensure that it peaks in the middle. Sandwich the cake together. Any of the filling that comes out the side can be used to provide a very thin crumb coat.

Spoon the rest of the filling into a piping bag fitted with a small star nozzle and pipe lines of the filling around the outside and then stars on the top of the sponge. Sprinkle over the chopped almonds and grate over a little dark chocolate.

I’ve got another one of my Guest Posts from a fellow food blogger, Luca Marchiori for the 2nd post in my Bumper December. I met Luca on Twitter, as seems to be the case all too often these days, and when he started tweeting these amazing bakes I discovered his blog. Then I had the idea for these Guest Posts and we started talking and soon we traded a post each tackling something French, since Luca lives in France. Luca will be tackling a Bûche de Noël on my blog meanwhile I’ve created a Sabayon Cake over on Luca’s blog.

Known in the UK as the Yule Log, the Bûche de Noël is one of the two archetypal French cakes for the festive season and no French reveillon or Christmas dinner would be complete without one. Originally designed to look like logs, the chic boutiques of Paris now sport them in all shapes, sizes and colours. Not being a chocolate fan, I developed the following recipe to reflect this, and oh la vache, it tasted good.

Any sweet white wine such as Tokaji Àszu, a Sauternes, or a sweet sherry, can be used to replace the Muscadet. Strawberries, redcurrants, or even cranberries soaked in sugar syrup, would all provide alternative fruit.

Biscuit Joconde:

30g butter

20g flour

75g icing sugar

75g ground almonds

2 whole eggs

2 egg whites

Pinch of salt

12g caster sugar

Crème Patissière:

½ vanilla pod

250ml milk

3 egg yolks

50g caster sugar

20g flour

20g butter

To Finish:

Muscat de Rivesaltes – a sweet French wine

125g fresh raspberries

500ml double cream

½ tsp red powder food colouring

120g white cooking chocolate

Icing sugar, to decorate

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Grease and line a lipped baking tray with greaseproof paper.

Melt the butter and then let it cool.

Sift the flour, icing sugar and ground almonds into a bowl. Add the whole eggs and beat until you have a light creamy mixture.

Place the egg whites in a bowl with the salt and caster sugar. Whisk until they form stiff peaks.

Fold the egg whites into the other mixture, being really careful to keep as much air as possible. This is what will give the biscuitits light character. When they are combined, add the melted butter and continue folding until it is incorporated.

Place the mixture into the baking tray and spread with a spatula until is it even; bake for 8‑10 minutes. Let it cool, remove the paper and the biscuitis ready to use.

For the crème pâtissière, place the vanilla pod and milk in a saucepan and bring to the boil; remove from the heat and leave the pod to infuse for about 10 minutes. Then remove the pod and discard

Beat the egg yolks together with the caster sugar in a mixing bowl; then sift the flour into the bowl and mix until smooth.

Pour the milk into the mixing bowl and combine with a whisk; then put the entire mixture into a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring all the time with the whisk; simmer, still stirring, for one minute.

Remove the mixture from the heat and add the butter; stir until combined. Cover the mixture with cling film which should touch the surface of the cream to stop a skin forming and leave to cool completely.

Spread the crème pâtissièreevenly over the biscuit. Place a row of raspberries along one of the short edges of the biscuit and then roll it up with the raspberries in the middle. Place it on a serving plate and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Add the food colouring to the cream until you have achieved the desired color. Break the white chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl. Boil the heavy cream and then pour over the white chocolate and leave for 10 minutes. Stir the cream until the chocolate has been dissolved completely. Refrigerate for 4 hours.

Using a stand mixer, whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Then using a piping bag and a star nozzle, pipe long stripes of cream to cover the cake. Place three rows of raspberries on the top and sprinkle with icing sugar. Voilà!